Digital shrinks find depressed faces and body language

The interviewee shifts uncomfortably in his seat before stumbling over his answer. The movement, hesitation and telltale gaze aversion are noted: this person may be depressed.

The probing questioner is SimSensei, a digital avatar that interviews humans to judge their state of mind. SimSensei is one of several new initiatives designed to partially automate one of the medical profession's trickiest tasks: diagnosing depression.

SimSensei is more than an astute questioner. Behind the scenes, it uses face recognition technology and depth-sensing cameras built into Microsoft's Kinect to record and interpret the interviewee's body language. The animated psychologist can then respond appropriately.